Tokyo's Diante Garrett attempts a last-second shot over Shibuya's Robert Sacre on Sunday at Aoyama Gakuin University Memorial Hall. Garrett made the shot, leading the Alvark to a 66-64 win over the Sunrockers. | B. LEAGUE

Garrett sinks game-winning shot to lead Alvark past Sunrockers

The totality of Diante Garrett’s Sunday performance didn’t measure up to his impressive Saturday statistics.

And even though he struggled at times in the series finale against the Sunrockers Shibuya in a clash of B. League teams at Aoyama Gakuin University Memorial Hall, Garrett made the most important play of the game. The final play.

Garrett drilled a long 2-point jumper over the outstretched arms of 213-cm Sunrockers center Robert Sacre with 1 second remaining. That accounted for the game’s final points in a 66-64 Alvark Tokyo victory before a packed house of 4,662, including his father, Dick Garrett, an NBA guard from 1969-74.

Alvark players immediately congregated around Garrett to celebrate his dramatic clutch shot that earned the team the win.

Garrett torched the Sunrockers in Tokyo’s 95-63 win on Saturday, finishing with game-high totals in points (25) and assists (five).

Shibuya made some defensive adjustments before the Sunday rematch. The Sunrockers did a solid job of making Garrett work for his shot throughout the game. He was held to eight points on 3-for-15 shooting, with five rebounds and five assists.

“It’s a good feeling each time for sure because you’re winning the game for your team,” a smiling Garrett said later, “and hitting the game winner, everybody as a kid growing up you always had that time when you’re counting down in the parking lot or at the park, and you’re just going up and making that shot.

“It was one of those days today,” the former NBA guard added. “It felt good when it left my hand (and) I knocked the shot down.”

Asked about what was going through his mind and the adjustment he made to Sacre’s tight defense, Garrett had this to say: “When I came off the screen, I knew they were going to switch so I kind of just got into one of my packages, moves, and just went for the double crossover, and I’d seen that he went for it and bit on it a little bit, so I went with a stepback (move) and created a little more space and I got the shot off.

“I was kind of saying my head, ‘Please don’t block it.’ But when I saw it online, I was like, ‘That’s good,’ and it went in.”

Before Garrett’s heroics, there were other big plays down the stretch.

Sacre, who had a game-high 21 points along with eight rebounds, tied it up at 64-64 on his patented hook shot with 16.9 seconds remaining. (The Alvark then called a timeout to draw up plans for their final play.)

Before that, Joji Takeuchi had given Tokyo a short-lived 64-62 advantage on and old-fashioned three-point play — a layup and a free throw — with 33 seconds left.

Takeuchi said his team remained patient and confident in its ability to gut out a win even despite its slow start.

He said he’s impressed with Garrett’s scoring skills and big-play capabilities.

“He has experience and he can hit big shots,” Takeuchi said of Garrett.

The Sunrockers (22-23) led 46-45 after three quarters, pulled ahead by three on an Ira Brown turnaround jumper to usher in the final stanza. Takeki Shonaka then canned a 3 courtesy of a long pass by Garrett to tie it at 48-48.

And it was a back-and-forth duel the rest of the way.

Shibuya coach BT Toews called it “a heartbreaking loss.”

“Even with the big butt-kicking that happened yesterday, believe it or not we’re not happy to play well . . . If that was the case, the feeling in the locker room would always be, well, we just hope to get in the playoffs and get a wild card,” Toews told reporters.

“We know in order to get to the finals we need to have to beat a team like this, and we still haven’t done it after two days.”

Daiki Tanaka paced the Alvark (35-10) with 16 points. Takeuchi scored seven of his 10 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed nine rebounds. Keijuro Matsui and Shonaka had eight points apiece and Jeff Ayres and Zack Baranski each put seven points on the board.

Kenta Hirose scored 14 points and made three steals for the Sunrockers. Brown added 13 points, six rebounds, a pair of steals and two blocks, while Takashi Ito scored nine points.

The Sunrockers defense played a hard-nosed game, holding the Alvark to 36.1 percent shooting.

On offense, Shibuya utilized the inside strength of Sacre and Brown to counter the run-and-gun approach by Tokyo at the other end.

Alvark coach Takumi Ito said his team got off to a slow start in the first half, but was pleased with the impact made by Tanaka and others despite the low score.

Tenketsu Harimoto, who made two free throws with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 84-84 and send it into OT, led Nagoya (22-23) with 27 points. He buried 6 of 10 3-point attempts.